Another IIT, 5 DU colleges to launch ITEP courses in 2026 even as seats go vacant in top institutes

Indian Institute of Technology (ISM) Dhanbad will be the fifth IIT to offer the Integrated Teachers Education Programme (ITEP) and is set to launch from the 2026-27 academic year. The number of institutes now offering the course stands at 223, with many Delhi University colleges part of the list. Starting this session, Miranda House, Lady Shri Ram College for Women (LSR) and Aditi Mahavidyalaya will be offering the teacher training course.

IIT ISM Dhanbad joins in despite one of the IITs raising concerns and pointing out challenges in running the course during last year’s IIT council meeting. Enrolment figures from some of the IITs offering the ITEP course show that they haven’t filled all 50 seats in the two years they’ve run it.

The National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE) introduced the ITEP course as part of the clutch of reforms ushered in by the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020. A key change was the introduction of the four-year ITEP. The degree – BA.BEd, BSc.BEd or BCom.BEd depending on the combination of subjects picked – can be obtained in four years and includes a major in a specific discipline, plus an education degree. Previously, just the B.Ed course duration was two years and it could be pursued only after completing a full, three-year undergraduate programme leading to a total of five years after leaving school.

The National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE) had also framed rules for one-year BEd course and one-year Master of Education (M.Ed) last year. However, in March, 2026, the government told parliament it had no plans of reviving the one-year Bachelor of Education.

Integrated B.Ed: Appeal for ministry support

At the meeting of the IIT Council in August last year – its minutes were made public in 2026 – IIT Jodhpur director reported “major challenges” in running the ITEP and requested the ministry of education for support.

It was recommended in the meeting that IIT Jodhpur be the nodal institution to coordinate with the education ministry’s department of school education and literacy and the National Council for Teacher Education secretary to resolve issues faced by the IITs and scaling the programme up to cover the entire network.

As of now, four IITs offer the BSc.BEd course – IIT Jodhpur, IIT Bhubaneshwar, IIT Kharagpur and IIT Ropar.

Most of them offer teacher training for the secondary stage. Physics, chemistry, and mathematics are the common subjects, with some also offering economics and psychology.

IIT Jodhpur did not respond to queries from Academia360. IIT Ropar stated that the programme is running smoothly. IIT Kharagpur, which was among the first to offer it, said there were no challenges.

ITEP was launched as a pilot in 42 institutions in the 2023-24 academic session. At most IITs, faculty members from other departments teach the course.

ITEP at IITs: 50 seats allotted, not filled

While they came close, neither IIT Kharagpur nor IIT Bhubaneshwar filled all their ITEP seats in the two years they’ve run the programme, data in the public domain shows.

IIT Ropar, which started the course in 2024-25 with 21 seats, has now increased the number to 50.

Source: Annual Reports

IIT Jodhpur’s annual report did not contain data on ITEP.

An IIT Kharagpur official cited delay on the part of National Testing Agency (NTA) as reason for a few seats going vacant. The NTA conducts the National Common Entrance Test (NCET) for admission into ITEP courses.

“NTA did not provide the overall score and rank of the candidates. Therefore, there was delay in counselling. That may be the possible reason,” the official added.

Most IITs said they have no plans of introducing other specialisations of ITEP.

DU, JMI to launch ITEP courses

Taken together, the focus of the ITEP project is lopsided. Of the 223 institutions offering that programme, the vast majority train teachers for the secondary stage, Class 9 onwards.

Just eight institutions address the foundational stage – till Class 2 – and have an ITEP programme for primary school.

Similarly, BCom.BEd has few takers. Of the 223, only 27 teacher training colleges are offering this specialisation. BA BEd constitutes over 50% of the programmes.

More University of Delhi colleges are joining the list. These include Miranda House, LSR, Institute of Home Economics, Aditi Mahavidyalaya and Gargi College. Miranda House will offer two specialisations – BA.BEd and BSc.BEd for the secondary stage. Aditi Mahavidyalya is the only one offering a foundational stage programme, along with a secondary one.

Jamia Millia Islamia will also be offering the course this year – BA.BEd and BSC.BEd, both for the secondary stage.